Priceline Hotel: 3.5* London (Central) Hilton London Ontario

[Gloworm]

Hello all. I tried bidding on Priceline for London, Ontario (Central) for 04/30 - 05/3 and was rejected.

1st bid: 3.5 *, $75

2nd bid: 3 *, $72

I've read that both of these bids have been successful in the past, so I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong. I need a place for tomorrow night, so if anyone has any ideas, I would be very grateful. This is my first time trying Priceline.

We would like the hotel to have a fitness centre.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

If you haven't yet please start by reading your messages.

Rates are date specific so what has been successful for one set of dates in the past may not be enough for another set of dates in the future (as well, hotels constantly get new reservations and cancellations so even if another user won for your exact dates a few days or weeks ago, it's possible that you are not successful at the moment).

With the above noted, i don't think you are too far away from a win... what is your maximum bid for this trip? What is the best rate you're able to find at an acceptable hotel in this zone using MAPS and HOTELS.com?

Lastly, it doesn't appear that you're using your re-bid zones... are you familiar with re-bidding? (if not, it's highly recommended that you ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before using this method in a bidding strategy)

Let us know the above and we'll take it from there.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[Gloworm]

I'm not familiar with the rebidding zones strategy, although I did read about them on this forum. I find the concept confusing, actually.

Sorry for being so uninformed. The cheapest I'm seeing for 3.5 * on MAPS and HOTELS.com is a whopping $136. For 3* in the same area (Central London) the lowest is $127--not much difference, actually.

We would like to keep the price around $100 with taxes and parking. We were very much hoping for a gym as well. I was offered a counter offer at first on the 3.5 * of $94. It still seemed expensive to me, since we would have to pay for parking and add taxes on that.

I am curious: is it possible to get the $94 rate back if we want it? Or does it expire somehow?

[AaronJB]

The counter-offer may or may not continue to be available. PRICELINE bidding inventory can potentially change at any time, and there's no way to see the underlying inventory. Additionally, $94 is the counter-offer price; what is actually required is more than likely somewhere in-between your last failed bid and the counter-offer.

Did you read this thread regarding re-bidding: Priceline Rebidding? If so, please let us know what is unclear and we would be happy to offer explanation.

Thank you for using the board's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[Gloworm]

I never did figure out how to raise the bid using the rezone trick. (There was no way to click on 3.5 * for the other zone--it only came up in grey.) Anyway, I did bid successfully for 3.5 * at $85 for three nights and got the Hilton. Thanks so much, everyone, for your advice.

[yellowdog]

Gloworm

Thank you for sharing your result with the board!

I never did figure out how to raise the bid using the rezone trick

Let us know next time you're bidding and we'll walk you trough it, it's very easy when you get the hang of it.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Enjoy your stay.

Yellowdog.